The invention relates to a body for a motor vehicle, particularly a passenger car of the sports car type, according to the preamble of Claim 1 having a removable roof and a rollbar system.
A body of a passenger car known from German Patent Document DE 197 52 068 is equipped with a windshield frame and a rollover bar system which has two individual rollover bars which extend transversely to the longitudinal direction of the vehicle and are arranged at a distance from one another. A roof covers an area from the windshield frame to the rollover bar system, the roof being movable from a closed position into a lowered position and vice-versa.
German Patent Document DE 198 25 651 C2 discloses a motor vehicle with an openable top, in the case of which a protective wall of glass is provided between the seats and a rollover bar arrangement mounted on a vehicle body. The top comprises a roof which covers a vehicle occupant compartment of the motor vehicle from the direction of a windshield and can be moved from a covering position into an open position and vice-versa.
From German Publication DE-AUTOFOCUS, September/October 2002, Page 33, a sports car of a coupe type is known whose roof comprises two lateral convex curvatures extending in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, between which a concave indentation extends. This roof construction is called a double bubble (=double dome).
It is an object of the invention to provide a body of a passenger car having a windshield frame, a rigid rollover bar system and a removable roof which follows defined shape definitions of the windshield frame as well as of the rollover bar system and, while the roof height is relatively low, along a longitudinal center plane in the lateral areas, offers an acceptable headroom to the occupants.
However, in this case, the roof should also have a high stability and a low weight.
According to the invention, this object is achieved by a body for a motor vehicle having a windshield frame, a rollover bar system and a dimensionally stable removable roof which covers an area between the windshield frame and the rollover bar system, the roof on one side following a convex shaping course of the windshield frame and, on the other side, following a shaping course of the rollover bar system, therefore defining a shaped structure such that, viewed in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, the roof has two lateral roof sections and a center roof section which extends between the lateral roof sections in the manner of a crease-type indentation means of the characteristics of Claim 1. Additional characteristics further developing the invention are contained in the subclaims. Additional embodiments will be apparent from the following descriptions.
The principal advantages achieved by means of the invention are that the vehicle body has a removable roof which spans a vehicle occupant compartment between a windshield frame and a rollover bar system and which is adapted to the defined, mutually deviating dimensions of the vehicle frame and of the rollover bar system which not only facilitates the largely free design of the latter but also has a particularly aesthetic effect as a result of the exterior shape of the roof. This is promoted in that, in the cross-sectional view of the roof, in a center area between the windshield frame and the rollover system, lateral roof sections are constructed as curvatures and the center roof section is constructed as a plane situated in-between. As a result of the lateral roof sections or curvatures, the vehicle occupants' headroom can also be optimized in the case of a passenger car of the sports car category. The rollover system comprises individual rollover bars which, for achieving a targeted stability, are supported on mutually facing legs by means of a cross member, in which case, the center roof section extends along this cross member, and the lateral roof sections of the roof extend over partial areas of the individual rollover bars, whereby a constructional compactness of the vehicle body is achieved. Finally, viewing panes made of glass can be inserted in a simple manner into openings bounding the individual rollover bars or the cross members as well as the body walls.
The drawing illustrates an embodiment of the invention which will be explained in detail in the following. Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.